More is Not Better.
You can have me read this article to you instead of reading it yourself…
Or you can read it the old-fashioned way below…
Humans have a tendency to believe that more is better. It must be. It’s more. More options, more solutions, more safeguards, more treatments, more money. This must equate to more satisfaction, more health, more success.
Except that it doesn’t.
Time and time again, research has shown that “more” is not always better. There are plenty of books out there on the topic. Some of them are pop culture, some of them are self-help, some of them are even text books. But the underlying theme is the same – no matter how much us humans insist on believing it, more is not better.
And this truth has been shown to be true across various manifestations of “more”.
For instance, what happens when people are provided with more choices? They become either less likely to actually make a choice at all, or less likely to be satisfied with their choice when it is made.
What about when people have more money? They have been shown time and again not to actually be happier, and to have lost the ability to savor the pleasures of life.
And then what about other forms, such as more exercise? It turns out that long, strenuous workouts can be far more damaging to your body and psyche than short, restricted spurts.
Every person is aware that too much of a prescription medication can be dangerous. In fact, overdose is one of the most commonly utilized methods for those that are trying to commit suicide. This is one of those places where we all, at least subconsciously, recognize that more is not beneficial. This extends to natural therapies as well. Too much of any essential vitamin can be lethal. Overdosing on an herbal product can be just as life-threatening as a prescription medication.
Prescription or natural, the remedies that we consume all have the potential to be bad for us in large quantities. If you are interested in learning more on this topic, there is an entire article dedicated to it here. But suffice to say, nature is yet another source of options from which more is not only often not better, but sometimes harmful.
This same mentality extends to the use of multiple treatments and medications, even at low doses. Medications each have their own, separate effects on the body. Medications also interact with each other and alter the way that each one functions and harms. So intuitively, we already understand that more medications are not always better.
What about just covering all of the bases?
What about the other options available to improve our health? Even if more medications might be worse, isn’t it better to tackle a problem or concern from multiple directions? Prevent invasion from every angle? Wouldn’t it make logical sense, in that case, to add medications, surgeries, natural therapies, Eastern medicine, dietary changes, and exercise changes in an effort to make sure all of your bases are covered?
The problem is, regardless of where any of these options originated, each one of them is a treatment. Although we have a tendency to classify each of these treatments into separate categories that do not overlap, they do all fall into the same bucket – treatments. An Eastern medicine can be just as dangerous as a Western medicine, and a diet can be just as dangerous as a surgery.
In the same way, an Eastern medicine, a diet, a surgery, and a Western medicine could be equally beneficial. But they all come with their own unique set of considerations. Ease of use, side effects, risks, extent of benefit, impact on other aspects of life, etc. And when you use multiple treatments together, their specific impacts on the body and their propensity to interact with one another can negate the benefit that you were aiming for in the first place.
Yet again, more is not better. The problem is, our classifications and feelings on our treatment options often prevent us from even realizing that what we are really doing is striving for “more”. We trick ourselves into believing that we are covering our bases. We convince ourselves that we are just being thorough and making sure that nothing has been missed along the way. That no stone has been left unturned.
I personally am particularly susceptible to this mentality. I want to make sure I have investigated every possible option. I get myself stuck for ages on evaluating every possible risk and benefit. The sticking point is that these evaluations must be conducted alongside each other. I can’t simply look at every single option and stack it on top of all of the ones that came before it. I have to line them up side by side and make a point of choosing between them.
A New Perspective on the Choices We Make
A treatment is a treatment and the purpose of employing it is to improve health and quality of life. So let’s change our approach. Instead of tacking yet another option onto the ones we have already tried, let’s reassess the ones that we have already tried. Let’s hold ourselves accountable to ensuring that the treatments we are using are only those treatments that are helping. Let’s clean out the closet before adding an entirely new wardrobe.
If you are still feeling sick enough that you believe you need to add another treatment, then re-evaluate the ones that you are already taking to identify which are actually helping and which haven’t provided any benefit after all. Better yet, try to pick out the ones that might only be making you feel worse. They do, unfortunately, exist.
Keep reading to learn about the many methods we can use to evaluate the treatments we are already on, as well as those that we want to start trying. We can put a method to the madness and come out on top!
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